


i've found myself attached to this railroad track, but i'll come back to you someday

by oneworldaway



Category: The Middleman (TV)
Genre: F/F, well technically it's mirror universe!Lacey with a dash of mirror universe!Wendy but also our Wendy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-14 02:35:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4546872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneworldaway/pseuds/oneworldaway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The girl who’d shown up on Lacey’s doorstep in a vest and a button-down shirt was different from the Wendy Watson she’d once shared a home (and a bed) with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i've found myself attached to this railroad track, but i'll come back to you someday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theoreticalfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoreticalfic/gifts).



> I finished my third full viewing of The Middleman a couple of nights ago and I'VE BEEN HAVING SOME FEELINGS.
> 
> Title is from the song "Ghost Town" by First Aid Kit.

_“Dub-Dub?” said Lacey, her voice barely louder than a whisper, the night before it all went to hell. (Before the darning camp; before the constant ID checks, the soup lines, the propaganda videos that played on a constant loop; before her best friend in the world sold her out.) “I don’t know what to do,” she spoke into the darkness around them. “I don’t know how to fight this.”_  

_It wasn’t every day that Lacey Thornfield admitted she’d met her match, but this wasn’t like anything she’d protested before. Cardboard signs and coordinated chants weren’t going to cut it this time. This was so much bigger than all that._

_She felt the mattress shift beneath her as Wendy rolled over, so close, now, that Lacey could feel her warm breath against her cheek. “Well, you won’t have to fight it alone,” she said, finding Lacey’s hand beneath the covers and squeezing it. “We’ll figure this all out.”_

_“Promise?” asked Lacey, her heart pounding so loudly, she was sure Wendy could hear it in the silence of her bedroom._

_Wendy brought Lacey’s hand to her lips, then, kissing her knuckles with unexpected tenderness. “Promise.”_

_Staring at their intertwined fingers, Lacey believed, for the first time in a long time, that things were going to be okay. And when they kissed, it felt like the world was shifting back into place._  

_The next morning, Wendy was gone, and Lacey was carted away in handcuffs._

 

 

 

The girl who’d shown up on Lacey’s doorstep in a vest and a button-down shirt was different from the Wendy Watson she’d once shared a home (and a bed) with. There was no trace of that look in her eyes that Lacey remembered, the one that spoke to how _worn out_ that Wendy had seemed to feel, how tired she was of feeling powerless. But there was also no malice in her gaze, and her guilt was sincere; it was the _other_ her who’d done this to Lacey, and yet this Wendy Watson couldn’t take it.

But she was the same, too. Perhaps she was even more the Wendy Watson that Lacey remembered than the one she’d known all those years ago. She’d just been a little farther away than Lacey had realized. 

“You sure you’re gonna be okay here?” asked this Wendy, now clad in her doppelganger’s all black garb and her glasses. (Seeing her in those again made Lacey’s heart ache with an inexplicable sense of longing for someone she never really knew.)

“No,” said Lacey, laughing softly. “But nothing’s ever sure in this life. That’s what you always used to tell me, anyway. Well, the other you.”

“Yeah, well,” said Wendy, sheepish, “I’m not sure I’d be taking any life lessons from _her_.” The mix of sympathy and guilt written across her face made Lacey want to hug her tight, right then and there. But she held back, watching as Wendy ran a hand through her own hair. “I can’t just leave you here, Lace. Maybe we can figure something out...”

“Dub-Dub,” said Lacey, and using that name again filled her heart to bursting. “I can handle it. I’ve made it this long on my own, here. Besides, I’ve got Noser. And your friend in the chaps seems...handy.”

“He’s a good guy,” said Wendy. “Even if he doesn’t know it yet.” She heaved a sigh. “But...you’re my best friend. And I just can’t bear knowing what the other me did to you.”

She moved closer to Wendy almost without realizing it. “It’s okay,” said Lacey. “She might’ve disappointed me, but _you’re_ the Dub-Dub I really knew, back then.” Closer, still. “The Dub-Dub I loved.”

It was Wendy who took that final step to close the distance between them, brushing their lips together softly, hesitantly. And it was just like she remembered, except even better, because _this_ Wendy loved her back. When she deepened the kiss, Wendy followed her lead, her arms winding around Lacey’s back as one of Lacey’s hands came up to tangle in her hair. She tasted like hope. Something ignited inside Lacey, a passion she’d long since forgotten. It was like she’d simply been existing, ever since she’d been arrested; but now, Wendy was breathing the life back into her, and she was alive once more.

Her hands found their way beneath Wendy’s jacket, sliding it off her shoulders. Methodically, she stripped away the _other_ Wendy’s clothing, until there were no reminders of her left. Even the glasses had to go, but she didn’t really mind. Her lips were all over Wendy, kissing every inch of skin she exposed, which Wendy rewarded with the most exquisite sounds. Wendy pulled her face back up to hers and kissed her with a sweetness that threatened to break Lacey’s heart. She knew this could only be the last time.

Which only made her kiss Wendy more fiercely, scarcely willing to pull back even long enough for them to make it up the stairs to the loft that had once been the other Wendy’s room. Lacey had never gone near that bed again, but she reclaimed it, now, painting over the memories of betrayal with new ones, better ones. And as Wendy pressed her into the mattress, a sense of calm came over Lacey. She might not be able to stay, but she could give Lacey this much. It was almost enough.

“I love you,” Wendy murmured, kissing her way along Lacey’s collarbone to her breasts, then down her stomach. When her mouth descended upon her even lower, it felt so good, she could almost cry. It was only after, when Wendy crawled back up her body and brushed a hand against her cheek, that Lacey took notice of the very real tears she’d shed. Wendy’s eyes glistened, too, and Lacey could only sigh into her mouth.

“The me in your world...” she whispered. “She’ll take care of you, right?”

“Always,” Wendy breathed, her eyes shining more brightly than ever.

Yes - that would have to be enough.


End file.
